Nigeria Oil Crisis free essay sample

Fariha Ahsan, period 5 This article displays a vivid picture for us about the conditions in Nigeria due to the oil reserves. Though Nigeria contained the potential to strive and become a wealthy oil nation, leaving the cocoon of poverty encompassing Africa- it became trapped in a lot of corrupt dealings. Today, the Niger Delta in Nigeria has caught the attention of world wide humanitarian and environmental activists. The article states how in the past, the corrupt government ruling Nigeria was funded by Western governments and large oil corporations. Together, the group have benefited from the fossil fuels that are in abundant supply in the delta region. However, the mines are not the only things that are in this area, there are people of the Niger Delta who have been harshly affected for decades due to this illegal mining. The Ogoni, Ijaw and other minority groups of the Niger Delta have been stripped away of their environment and basic human rights. We will write a custom essay sample on Nigeria Oil Crisis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their non-violent protests have been ignored and harshly cracked down by the money-hungry government. For example, during one non violent protest, Shell paid several community members to break off the protesting group. The Human Rights Watch has sided with the people of the delta, as it is clearly visible how the oil mining has ruined the area. The oil corporations have destroyed the chances of neighboring communities and minorities to form. Money to control the environmental pollution has been insufficient, causing extremely- harsh living condition with scarce drinking water, and abundance of malnourishment and disease. The oil mining has destroyed the land of the Nigerian Delta as well as the homes of many living there. After the delta started receiving world wide attention some change has begun to start, but the previous government has left behind much chaos. It is reported that in the last decade, the military took control of the regions people, burned homes and killed masses of civilians. The present government has attempted on being more democratic and open, so change is still underway.

Causes For The American Revolution essays

Causes For The American Revolution essays There where 3 major causes of the American Fight for Independence in 1776 to about 1783. The first cause was the Great Awakening. The second cause was Enlightenment. The final cause of the Revolution was Oppressive Treatment of the colonies. The first cause of the Revolution was the Great Awakening. For thousands of years, state controlled churches, and faiths had been the trend. If the King was a Christian, the Country, and all her people, where also Christian. If the King was Catholic, the Country, and all her people where Catholic. The Great Awakening was spread by people such as Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefeild who taught that faith was more personal than previously accepted. The Great Awakening was the revolutionary idea that the State should not have direct control of the faiths of the people. Instead, she should set basic moral guidelines, such as Do not Kill, and allow people to practice their faith independently from the Government. This idea was very popular in the Americas where many people (mostly in the northern colonies) seeker to escape religious oppression in Europe, and sought out an escape in the Americas. Most of these people did not like the British Government who oppressed them in the past. This, in part, encouraged them to seek complete sovereignty from the British Government that had oppressed them so much. For them, it wasnt so much a matter of anger, as much as an inevitable event, as shown in the very first lines of the Declaration of Independence: When in the course of Human Events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands... As you can see, they simply wanted to cease the unnecessary contact with the British, and live their lives. The second major cause was Enlightenment. In the mid 17th century, through the 18th century, the idea of Enlightenment became popularized primarily by John Locke. Other people who helped popularize the concept w...

Aims and objectives of Exxon Mobil Corporation

Aims and objectives of Exxon Mobil Corporation This case study is about Exxon Mobil Corporation faced with crisis. Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaskaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Prince William Sound. Lot wildlife such as brown bear, harbor seals, sea birds, bald eagles, sea otters and cormorants suffered a great loss in their population. Those species are affected by spilled oil disaster. The Exxon Mobil Corporation oil spilled case greatly affected the Alaskaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s fisheries life, environment of national parks, beaches and forests. All Alaskaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tourism spices are greatly affected by oil spilled due to Exxon Mobil Corporation worst management or slow response. A lot crude oil trading cooperation in the world, like one of the trading Companies Exxon mobile Corporation or Exxon Mobil is an American multinational oil and gas corporation, headquarter of Exxon Mobil are founded on 1870 and located in Irving, Texas. Exxon Mobil Corporation is one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world and ranked on top 5 corporations. ExxonMobil is the largest of the oil or energy industrial with daily high productivity more than 3.5 million barrels of oil equivalent. Exxon Mobil Corporation produces 3 main products such as fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals. On March 24, 1989, Exxon Mobil Corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Vessel the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, this oil tanker was control by shipmaster Jeffrey Hazelwood. The oil tanker was sailing the shipping lane from Valdez, Alaska to Los Angeles, California, ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The oil vessel Exxon Valdez was sailing inbound shipping lane due to outbound lane obstructed with small icebergs. Before the tanker arrive the destination, the Exxon Valdez spilled approximately 11 million gallons of its 55 million gallon crude oil. The oil would eventually spill more than 1,100 square miles of ocean in Alaska. This oil spilled disaster was making the Exxon Valdez the la rgest oil spilled case in worldwide. The crisis to the Exxon Valdez involved a lot personnel and equipment over a longer period of time than did any other spill in America State history. This oil disaster involving the problems in providing fuel, berthing, meals, waste management, response equipment and other resources were one of the largest challenges to response management team. The Oil spilled case was involving lot personnel, vessels and aircraft to support the cleanup operation. The Exxon Mobil Corporation spends the cleanup cost approximately more than 2.1billion dollar in cleanup operation. Until now, some of the shoreline still did not fully cleanup or recover. These oil disasters due to the Exxon Mobil Corporationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s management did not show fast response on tanker oil spilled case. Examine the aim and objectives of Exxon Mobil Corporation. 3.1 The aim by Exxon Mobil Corporation The Exxon Mobil Corporation was still continuously achieving superior financial and operating results while simultaneously adhering to high ethical standards. The reason is the Exxon Mobil Corporation was committed want to being the world’s famous petroleum and premier petrochemical company.  The following committed such as shareholders, customers, employee and communities. 3.1.1 Shareholders The Exxon Mobil Corporation is committed to enhancing the long term value of the investment and expands the global market.   The Exxon Mobil Corporation are believe that, there shareholders will be rewarded with greatly return due to the business profitably and responsibly. The Exxon Mobil Corporation are implementing the aim and achieve their commitment to shareholder.

MS Project and Critical Path Analysis (1 Day Training Program for Essay

MS Project and Critical Path Analysis (1 Day Training Program for Level 6 UG Students) - Essay Example The report outlines the training content and other resources as per initial requirements communicated by Mr. Smart. The program specifically focuses on using MS Project and CPA in Project Management Methodology. Project Management Ltd. (PML) has been invited to prepare the project management plan for Big Idea Ltd. The project is a one day training program on ‘project management and the use of MS Project and Critical Path Analysis (CPA)’ for level 6 undergraduate students. The project plan, including costing, marketing and controlling will need to be incorporated in the report. Big Ideas Ltd. has approached us to prepare the plan for the one day training program and requires us to be associated on it throughout the project life cycle, from doing the feasibility study to completion of the project. Although, the company has started the feasibility study for the project, it requires PML to start from this stage of the project. The project is a one day training program aimed at level 6 undergraduate students of all universities. It is intended to teach the students the importance and use of MS Project and the Critical Path Analysis (CPA) in Project Management. As students are set to enter the professional world after college, their knowledge and skills at Project Management tools and techniques would be handy in carrying out their day-to-day management and reporting activities easily. Defining project requirements Big Ideas Ltd. expects the consulting team from PML to carry out the following tasks: a. Define the team’s approach to developing the plan using the Project Life Cycle; b. Develop a scope statement; c. Outline the main themes for the training day, with a brief statement of each presentation; d. Develop a work breakdown structure and explain it; e. Include a suitable team structures for each phase of the project; f. Estimate time and cost durations of activities both before and on the day; g. Construct a Gantt chart to determine the base line cost and duration of the project and analyse it; h. Provide a process for monitoring and controlling the project; i. Construct an outline project risk register; j. Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis of the project; and k. Provide a recommendation. Definition of project management Firstly, we define what project management is and its scope. â€Å"Project management is concerned with the overall planning and co-ordination of a project from conception to completion aimed at meeting the stated requirements and ensuring completion on time, within cost and to required quality standards. It is normally reserved for focused, non-repetitive, time-limited activities with some degree of risk and that are beyond the usual scope of operational activities for which the organization is responsible.† (Project Management (1.7 ProjectManagement.pdf), 2012). Project management includes the managing of resources, time, schedule and performance and costs of a project.

Better Asphalt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Better Asphalt - Essay Example Several major research projects have taken place and are currently in progress. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has a major study currently underway to evaluate skid resistance. The study is not yet complete, but it does show promise in offering improvements in skid resistance through the use of finer grade aggregates. However, due to the fine grade of the aggregate, water may be slow to run off and create a wet condition hazard. Friction is created where the rubber meets the road. The composition of the open coarse grade and its components are a first consideration. The microtexture, the fine aggregate in an asphalt mixture, is most influential force creating the necessary surface friction between the pavement surface and automobile tires (Williams). Over time, the surface wears away and exposes the coarse aggregate. Coarse aggregate size becomes a major consideration on the surface to improve skid resistance. Recent tests in the United Kingdom has indicated that 6 to 10 mm chips at a 1.4 mm depth offered improved skid resistance at high speeds (United States Department of Transportation).

Drama coursework - Response Essay Example for Free

Drama coursework Response Essay Introduction In our group we came up with lots of similarities in our thought showers. A lot of us described the Witches the same as in the green faces, long noses warts spots, and there broom sticks. Some differences that our group came up with is that a few of us thought of modern witches, as in a normal human being look but with witch features, instead of black cats a lot of our group wrote different pet names. Our mind has been influenced about the topic by many things e. g. the media’s outlook on a stereotypical witch, children’s stories also portray witches with the green faces big hats etc. which means movies portray it like this. Also from the image created by our ancestors where the apparent witches were being burnt at the stake. Macbeth extract: focusing on the ‘outsider’ This role-play brought about issues such as how society today fears outsiders. How society today is divided into different groups, such as Goths / punks / gangster and take different paths in life. We fear the outsiders of society because we fail to understand the logic behind their culture / background. This also brings about racism / religion clashes. In the olden days most of the fear was based around witches because they were conveyed as the biggest outsiders. The storyline of our role-play was about a gothic boy who was feared isolated from family school because of being a Goth. We started the role play with Steven (the gothic boy) being in a school photo where is he is isolated from the rest of the school and then we went into his home life where his parents siblings make jokes about his appearance and his way of life. We ended the play with a twist, where Steven was with all his gothic friends and his little brother (Aaron Tovee) walks past Steven and his group of gothic friends and is mocked for being what society would call â€Å"normal† and he is then conveyed as the outsider. We showed isolation in this play from the very first scene. In the first scene we had school photos were Steven (the outsider) was separated a foot away from the rest of the school that were huddled together for the photo. We portrayed an even bigger sense of frustration isolation by this when the photographer asks Steven to step in the photo and the group moves away from him. The photographer blames Steven and again snaps at Steven to move into the photo. We did this to show how normal society blames the outsider, as if it was just easier to do so. We also showed isolation at the dinner table of Stevens’s family-home. We showed this by having all his siblings laugh and snigger at him and make comments like â€Å"drink blood† because of his gothic background. We ended that scene with Stevens father shouting at Steven telling him he’s not welcome in the home for kicking his sibling under the table (for making the comments) and telling him to get out and hang around with ‘his own kind.’ This made the whole idea of isolation seem a lot more effective because even his father, he whom he should be very close with, kicks him out of the house belting abuse at the top of his voice just because he is a Goth. We also ended our role-play with a twist on the sense of isolation where Steven is with a group of his Goth friends when his little brother walks past and his little brother feels isolated and afraid because he is the outsider there. The crucible Some similarities of ideas that we had on the idea of witchcraft from this stimuli went along the lines of how accusations were so quickly thrown around in the courtroom, and how everyone believed someone who was called a witch. Most people also thought that it was a fairly racist time and that’s why if you was black like the maid in the stimuli the blame was easily put on you. Some differences on the stimuli were about how the accused always showed a sense of fear. How society was so gullible and why the lies were started. In our role play we showed the accusation by the same sort of scene as the stimuli. We had it set in a court-room in the olden times whereas the judge’s verdict was the final, and punishment was death / something incorporating pain. We built hysteria in our role-play by levelling up the amount of volume in the courtroom until it was mayhem and chaos with everyone throwing accusations of being a witch to the accused. We marked the moment where the defence is getting shouted at and abused really badly and she gets up and accuses a man from the courtroom audience. We did this by building up the hysteria with everyone standing up shocked, and built up amount of noise slowly to a really loud volume and then when she got up and said â€Å"It’s him!† we silenced the courtroom immediately so it was just a big awkward silence. Studying this stimulus helped us understand the context at the time because it showed how gullible society was at that time period. An example of this is the fact that everyone believed that a person was a witch just by someone else’s word. The stimulus also shows that there was a big thing about racism in that time. An example of this is where the black woman was blamed for being the witch and beat brutally, the accusation was easily accepted by society because of the colour of her skin. Forum Theatre. Our class used forum theatre through studying a news article about a woman sacrificing her two babies to Satan. We then used this as a stimulus and did a whole-class courtroom drama, where we would switch places (defence, prosecution, judge, witnesses etc) This was useful to use because it made you think on the spot about the subject and it also improved your improvisation skills. Using the court-room drama attached with forum theatre was very useful because reading about just the sacrifice gave you a biased opinion about what really happened. But when we used the courtroom drama we had to act as defence as well so you started thinking about both sides of the story, and maybe reasons for why they did it. When playing the witnesses it also opened up that it might not just affect the family it could also affect other people around too. Conclusion My understanding of the topic has developed through studying the different stimuli a lot because you start to realise that witchcraft isn’t all fairytales and children’s books. It can be portrayed through children’s theatre, but also relate to serious events such as when the babies were sacrificed by the mother to Satan and such. Studying the different stimuli in different times and cultures developed our Understanding a lot too because you can see that not along ago was it that people actually were killed for being accused of witches, and everything was done through religion, and people believed in God strongly. You can see that science has developed through the ages and changed the thoughts of people today drastically through things such as the theory of evolution, which puts people in 2 minds about the creation of mankind, and even questions religion. Therefore people aren’t willing to believe things like witchcraft anymore as it has become abnormal for us to comprehend supernatural things.

Affirmative Action Essay -- Law Government Equality Papers

Affirmative Action Analyzing Affirmative Action in America doesn’t just mean looking at how to make equality, it also means understanding how inequality has been made. Race and gender are not inherently disadvantageous; one cannot get â€Å"more or less race† or â€Å"more or less gender.† How do we define this inequality of race and gender? These socially constructed equalities are linked very strongly to real, tangible inequalities such as education, jobs, income, class, and social mobility. Another concern, therefore, is what inequalities are acceptable? These material inequalities of income, education, housing, etc. are necessary to a multi-class capitalist society, but the unacceptable cultural inequalities of race, gender, discrimination, and prejudice must be ameliorated. Current trend in the United States, and in fact the world, is to try to remedy this link between race/gender and measurable inequalities by affecting opportunity. Affirmative Action policies hop e to provide more equal opportunity, which will in turn provide more equal outcomes. As J. Blain Hudson puts it, â€Å"the term ‘Affirmative Action’ encompasses a body of laws, policies and programs designed to reduce or eliminate racial and other forms of inequality in American society. Such programs are intended, ideally, to compensate for the persistence of past wrongs in the present by desegregating American institutions and altering the opportunity and outcome structures of American society† (260). With access to better schooling and better job markets, the historically disadvantaged groups can hope to obtain advantageous places in the economic world. HISTORY The United States has a long history of discrimination against people of color,... ...utgers.edu/Facts/Officeholders/ocawpfs.html >.{unrestricted; internet publication only; apparently credible} Wright, Erik Olin; Janeen Baxter, and Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund. â€Å"The Gender Gap in Workplace Authority: A Cross-National Study.† American Sociological Review. Jun. 1995. p. 407-435. Apr. 13 2004. . {scholarly primary; print via internet; authoritative} Yetman, Norman R. Calhound and Ritzer: Introduction to Social Problems. Chapter 17. The McGraw-Hill Companies, 1998. {primary scholarly; print; authoritative} Yorke, Liselle. â€Å"Joint Center Releases 1998 National Count of Black Elected Officials.† Nov. 1999. 4/2004. . {unrestricted; internet publication only; apparently credible}

A Bump On Tobacco Road

In North Carolina, the governor may be the top public official, but for the past 200 years tobacco has been king. The state grows half of all the tobacco in the United States, and the original cash crop remains its economic backbone.But beginning next month, North Carolina will be home to one of the nation's toughest youth smoking laws, with a ban on tobacco use in public schools. Most students can't smoke at school anyway, but the law applies to everyone on campus, year-round: parents in the stands at football games, maintenance crews in the school garage, teachers in the parking lot.Getting the law passed was no simple feat in a state that still depends on people lighting up. North Carolina spends just 4 percent of its annual $426 million of tobacco revenue on smoking prevention (less than half the minimum federal recommendation), and, at 35 cents, maintains one of the country's lowest cigarette taxes. In all, it took six years of local advocacy and the votes of all 115 of the stat e's school boards.â€Å"It wasn't easy,† says Mark Ezell, the state's tobacco-free-campus director. â€Å"I got called a Nazi a few times.† Health advocates who want the state to go further are likely to be called a few more things.Source: Philips, M. (2008) ‘A Bump On Tobacco Road’ Newsweek Online [online] available from http;//www.nesweek.com/id/147789> [August 3, 2008]The article I chose has the topic of smoking ban on schools on North Carolina. It is a landmark case on the massive efforts of different groups and individuals to educate the youth on the health risks of smoking. Although there is already an existing law that prohibits smoking of the students in their school premises, the new law was tougher and stricter in sense.For smoking is now a total ban on schools through out the state, not only for the youth but also for the teachers, employees or even ordinary visitors. This will ward off any attempts, influences or temptations of the youth to smo ke by seeing their teachers or adults doing the same thing. This is also a daring step of the state authorities even though they will be having a tough battle against big multinational cigarette companies.The article shows that smoking among the youth is a big problem. Cigarette companies usually on their marketing strategies targets teens, encouraging them to smoke on an early age. If they will be hooked on their youth on smoking, it will be difficult for them to quit smoking while growing, and this means a big sum of money for the cigarette companies. Moreover, smoking is usually introduced by peers on high schools. They usually try smoking because of curiosity, peer pressure or simply they just thought that it is ‘cool’ to smoke, like the Marlboro Man.Companies and their marketing arms promote smoking as part of the ‘youth culture’, that smoking should be experienced by every youth and that smoking is a requisite for them to ‘belong’ on a gr oup. Furthermore, even if smoking is prohibited for students on their school grounds, but visitors, teachers and other school staff are allowed to do so, the students will juts simply question such policies.Why they are not allowed to smoke inside school yet non-students are allowed. So it means, smoking are only banned inside, but allowed outside school premises.And even worst, they will have the perception that when they reach adult age, they are already ‘legally’ allowed to smoke. Lastly, anti-smoking campaigns will be only effective if the people behind it will not only focus their efforts on lobbying to the proper authorities to pass ordinances or laws on prohibiting smoking on public places or schools. They should also intensify their campaign on educating not only the youth, but everybody, on the illnesses and ill-effects of cigarettes on our health.   

Market Efficiency and Market Failure

CHAPTER 4 Market Efficiency and Market Failure 1. Chapter Summary Governments of over 200 cities in the United States have placed ceilings on the maximum rent some landlords can charge for their apartments. Some firms have coaxed governments into imposing price floors, which are legally determined minimum prices that sellers may receive. To understand the economic impact of government interventions in markets, it is necessary to understand consumer surplus and producer surplus.Consumer surplus is the dollar net benefit consumers receive from buying goods and services at market prices less than the maximum prices they would be willing to pay. In a demand and supply graph, consumer surplus equals the area below the demand curve and above a horizontal line drawn from the price axis to the point on the demand curve that represents the market price. Producer surplus is the dollar net benefit producers receive from selling goods and services at prices greater than the minimum prices they w ould be willing to accept.In a demand and supply graph, producer surplus is equal to the area above the supply curve and below a horizontal line drawn from the price axis to the point on the supply curve that represents the market price. In a competitive market, the equilibrium price for a good or service occurs at the quantity of product where the marginal cost of the last unit produced and sold is equal to the marginal benefit consumers receive from the last unit bought. Therefore, equilibrium in a competitive market results in an economically efficient level of output.At this same level of output economic surplus, the sum of consumer and producer surplus in this market is maximized. Some producers who believe an equilibrium price is too low will lobby for government action to set a higher legal price (a â€Å"floor price†). Some consumers who believe that an equilibrium price is too high will lobby government to legally require that a lower price (a â€Å"ceiling priceâ⠂¬ ) be charged. Although price ceilings and price floors are not common, they have been established in some markets. Price floors were established in gricultural markets in the United States during the Great Depression. Government intervention in agriculture has continued ever since. Although the administration of price floors can be complex, the basic operation of this price control involves a government commitment to maintain a price (for example, $3. 50 per bushel of wheat) that exceeds the equilibrium price (for example, $3. 00). The price floor reduces the quantity demanded of the product while it encourages producers to increase the quantity supplied.The difference between these two quantities, a surplus, is typically bought by government at the floor price. The result of the price floor is to (a) transfer some consumer surplus that would exist at the equilibrium price to producer surplus and (b) create a â€Å"deadweight loss† or a net loss of consumer and producer s urplus. The deadweight loss is also the efficiency loss that results from the price floor. Another example of a price floor is the â€Å"minimum wage,† which is a legal wage imposed above the equilibrium wage offered in the United States for most occupations.Since most workers earn wages above the minimum wage, this price (wage) floor affects low-skilled and inexperienced workers. Although the economic impact of the minimum wage is similar to that of price floors imposed in other markets (deadweight losses result), economists have disagreed about the extent to which the minimum wage reduces employment. Price ceilings are found most often in the markets for apartments in various cities; local governments will usually impose this type of price ceiling.In New York City, about 1 million apartments are subject to rent control. A simple description of the impact of a price ceiling on rent (administration of the ceiling will vary by city and over time) is that the quantity demanded at the ceiling price, for example, $1,000 per month, exceeds the quantity supplied. In contrast, if an equilibrium price of, say $1,500, were allowed, the quantity supplied would be greater and the quantity demanded would be less; these two quantities would be equal and there would be no shortage of apartments.The results of the price ceiling are to (a) transfer some producer surplus to consumer surplus and (b) create a deadweight loss or a net loss of consumer and producer surplus. Another possible result of the ceiling is the creation of a â€Å"black market† where buyers agree to rent apartments from landlords for greater than the legal price. Because the ceiling reduces quantity supplied, the black market price may exceed the equilibrium price. An externality is a benefit or cost that affects someone not directly involved in the production or consumption of a good or service.Negative externalities are costs imposed on non-consenting individuals. Positive externalities are benefits for individuals not directly involved in producing or paying for a good or service. Externalities interfere with the economic efficiency of a market equilibrium since they cause a difference between the private cost of production (the cost borne by the producer of a good or service) and the social cost, or the private benefit from consumption (the benefit received by the consumer of a good or service) and the social benefit.The social cost is the private cost plus any external cost resulting from production; the social benefit is the private benefit plus any external benefit that results from the consumption of a good or service. When there is a negative externality as the result of production, the market supply curve understates the true (social) cost of production. A supply curve that reflects social costs would lie to the left of the market supply curve. The equilibrium market price occurs where the marginal social cost of production exceeds the marginal benefit to cons umers and there is a reduction in economic surplus.Economic efficiency would be increased if less of the good or service were produced. When there is a positive externality, the market demand curve understates the social benefits from consumption of a good, and the demand curve that reflects the social benefits of this good would lie to the right of the market demand curve. At the equilibrium point, the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost and a deadweight loss results. Because of the positive externality, too little of the good is produced.Negative and positive externalities lead to market failure due to the absence of private property rights for physical property (for example, a store or factory) or intangible assets (for example, for a new idea to improve a production process). Market failure may also result from the difficulty of enforcing private property rights (for example, lax government enforcement of copyright laws). Most of the time, the governments of the United St ates and other high income nations provide adequate enforcement of property rights, but in certain situations, these rights do not exist or cannot be legally enforced.When private solutions to externalities are not feasible, government intervention is justified. For example, by imposing a tax equal to the external costs that result from production of a good, government can â€Å"internalize† the externality. This causes the social, not just the private, cost of production to be borne by producers. In effect, the supply curve for the good shifts to the left. This supply curve would then cross the demand curve at a higher equilibrium price and lower equilibrium quantity. When production of a good produces a positive externality, government can internalize the externality by providing a subsidy to consumers.If the subsidy is equal to the value of the externality, this has the effect of shifting the demand curve for the good to the right; market equilibrium is achieved at the eco nomically efficient level with a higher price and quantity. To reduce pollution, governments have often used a â€Å"command and control† approach. This may involve government imposition of quantitative limits on amounts of pollution firms can emit or the installation of specific pollution control devices. An exception to the command and control approach was the U. S. overnment’s attempt to reduce acid rain pollution. In the Clean Air Act passed by Congress in 1990, a reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions, a major cause of acid rain, from electric utilities was mandated. To achieve this goal, utilities were allowed to buy and sell emissions allowances. Each allowance is equal to one ton of sulfur dioxide. So long as the total amount of emissions does not exceed an annual mandated maximum amount (by 2010 this amount will be 8. 5 million tons), firms can emit sulfur dioxide in amounts equal to their allowances.Firms that face high costs of reducing sulfur dioxide have an incentive to buy more allowances than they have been allocated. Utilities that can reduce their emissions at low cost have an incentive to do so and sell some of their allowances. This program has achieved emissions reductions at much lower costs than had been expected in 1990. The success of the sulfur dioxide program has led some to suggest that a similar program be used by the United States and other nations to reduce emissions of so-called â€Å"greenhouse gases† that contribute to global warming. . Learning Objectives Students should be able to: †¢Understand the concepts of consumer surplus and producer surplus. †¢Understand the concept of economic efficiency, and use a graph to illustrate how economic efficiency is reduced when a market is not in competitive equilibrium. †¢Use demand and supply graphs to analyze the economic impact of price ceilings and floors. †¢Identify examples of positive and negative externalities and use graphs to show how ext ernalities affect economic efficiency. Analyze government policies to achieve economic efficiency in a market with an externality. 3. Chapter Outline Should the Government Control Apartment Rents? 1. Rent control is an example of government regulation of prices. Rent controls (a type of price ceiling) exist in about 200 cities in the United States. Although the rules that govern rent control are complex and vary by city, rent control drives up the demand and price for apartments not subject to the controls. Consumer Surplus and Producer Surplus 1.Consumer surplus is the difference between the highest price a consumer is willing and able to pay and the price the consumer actually pays. 2. Producer surplus is the difference between the lowest price a firm would have been willing and able to accept and the price it actually receives. A. Consumer and producer surplus represent the net benefits consumers and producers receive from buying and selling a good or service in a market. B. Pric e ceilings and price floors reduce the economic surplus (this is consumer surplus plus producer surplus in a given market).C. Marginal benefit is the benefit to a consumer from consuming one more unit of a good or service. D. The height of a market demand curve at a given quantity measures the marginal benefit to someone from consuming that quantity. Consumer surplus refers to the difference between this marginal benefit and the market price the consumer pays. E. Total consumer surplus is the difference between marginal benefit and price for all quantities bought by consumers; this is shown in a demand curve as the area below the demand curve and above the market price.F. Marginal cost is the additional cost to a firm of producing one more unit of a good or service. G. The height of a market supply curve at a given quantity measures the marginal cost of the last unit produced for the producer. Producer surplus refers to the difference between this marginal cost and the market price the producer receives. H. Total producer surplus equals the difference between marginal cost and price for all quantities sold by producers. The Efficiency of Competitive Markets 1.When equilibrium is reached in a competitive market, the marginal benefit from the last unit sold will equal the marginal cost of producing that last unit. This is an economically efficient outcome. A. If less than the equilibrium output were produced, the marginal benefit of the last unit bought would exceed its marginal cost. B. If more than equilibrium quantity were produced, the marginal benefit of this last unit would be less than its marginal (opportunity) cost. C. Economic surplus is the sum of consumer and producer surplus.Economic surplus, or the net benefit to society from the production of a good or service, is maximized at equilibrium in a competitive market (when there are no externalities). D. A deadweight loss is the reduction in economic surplus resulting from a market not being in competi tive equilibrium. E. Economic efficiency is a market outcome in which the marginal benefit to consumers of the last unit produced is equal to its marginal cost of production, and where the sum of consumer and producer surplus is at a maximum. Government Intervention in the Market: Price Floors and Price Ceilings 1.Though the total benefit to society is maximized at a competitive market equilibrium, individual consumers would be better off if they could pay a lower than equilibrium price, and individual producers would be better off if they could sell at a higher than equilibrium price. 2. Consumers and producers sometimes lobby government to legally require a market price different from the equilibrium price. These lobbying efforts are sometimes successful. 3. Price floors were established in agricultural markets during the Great Depression in response to pleas from farmers who could sell their product only at low prices.A. A price floor is a legally determined minimum price that se llers may receive. B. A price floor encourages producers to produce more output than consumers want to buy at the floor price. C. The surplus (equal to the quantity supplied minus the quantity demanded at the floor price) that results from a price floor is typically bought and stored by the government. D. The marginal cost of the last unit produced exceeds its marginal benefit and there is a deadweight loss which reflects a decline in efficiency due to the price floor. 4.A price ceiling is a legally determined maximum price that sellers may charge. A. Price ceilings are meant to help consumers who may lobby for a price ceiling after a sharp increase in the price of an item on which they spend a significant amount of their budgets (for example, rent and energy). B. At the ceiling price, the quantity demanded is greater than the quantity supplied so that the marginal benefit of the last item sold (the quantity supplied) exceeds the marginal cost of producing it. C. Price ceilings resu lt in a deadweight loss and a reduction of economic efficiency.D. Price ceilings create incentives for black markets. A black market refers to buying and selling at prices that violate government price regulations. Externalities and Efficiency 1. An externality is a benefit or cost that affects someone who is not directly involved in the production or consumption of a good or service. A. Positive externalities refer to benefits received from a good or service by consumers who do not pay for them. B. Negative externalities refer to costs incurred by individuals from a good or service for which no one pays.C. A private cost is a cost borne by the producer of a good or service. D. A social cost is the total cost of production, including both the private cost and any external cost. E. A private benefit is the benefit received by the consumer of a good or service. F. A social benefit is the total benefit from consuming a good, including both the private benefit and any external benefit. G. A negative externality causes the social cost of production for a good or service to be greater than the private cost. As a result, more han the economically efficient level of output is produced. H. A positive externality causes the social benefit from the production of a good or service to be greater than the private benefit. As a result, less than the economically efficient level of output is produced. A. Market failure refers to situations where the market fails to produce the efficient level of output. B. Figure 4-9 illustrates the effect of acid rain on the market for electricity and the deadweight loss that occurs due to a negative externality. C.Figure 4-10 illustrates the impact of a positive externality in the market for a college education and the deadweight loss caused by this externality. 3. In the absence of private solutions to externalities, government intervention is warranted. To achieve economic efficiency, governments may intervene in different ways. A. To red uce pollution, â€Å"command and control† policies have often been employed. A command and control approach refers to government-imposed quantitative limits on the amount of pollution firms are allowed to generate, or government-required installation by firms of specific pollution control devices.B. Since 1990, a market-based approach to reducing sulfur dioxide emissions from electric utilities has reduced emissions at much lower cost than was expected. The success of this approach has led economists to advocate more extensive use of market-based approaches, and less use of command and control policies, to reduce other forms of pollution. Homework Problems – Not to be submitted: 1. From the Review Questions: Try all of them! 2. From the Problems and Applications: #s: 3, 4, 5, 16, and 20. 3. From the APPENDIX: REVIEW QUESTIONS #S 3 AND 4.

The War Against Drugs essays

The War Against Drugs essays Naufel Tajudeen Crimes, Drugs and Policy The War Against Drugs In this country, we are locked in war we simply cannot win. We strive to protect over 10,000 miles of border, against enemies who are driven by the lure of an obscene profit. We have fought this a version of this war before, and have lost. All that has really resulted from this war is the overcrowding of prisons, the expansion of law enforcement's ability to encroach on the personal lives of ordinary citizens, and paranoia and distrust. I am referring to the war on drugs. As time goes on, it becomes more and more evident that the war on drugs is as useless as prohibition was almost 80 years ago. Now it has become a point of pride for our elected officials, who use the war as a re-election tool. To most people the fiscal reasons for ending the war are the most convincing. For example, it costs over $30,000 per year to house a prisoner - this does not include processing and legal fees, only the actual prison costs - food, w ater, electricity and guards. There are over 1.5 million non-violent drug law offenders in prison right now, and this number is increasing daily. That means we are spending a minimum of $45 billion per year keeping former tax-paying citizens, most of whom had jobs and were contributing to the economy in some way, locked up with murderers and rapists. When these people get out of jail, they will have criminal records, which will make it nearly impossible to get a decent job and a grudge against the government and society in general. In addition, we spend $37 billion per year funding the police efforts and interdiction, and recent evidence suggests the CIA have been involved in drug-trafficking to fund its own private wars. Currently there is over $150 billion worth of drug traffic that remains untaxed. If one figures a tax rate of 15%, that is a total of $22.5 billion of taxes that America doesn't see. The bottom-line? The U.S. Treasury estimates America was...

Impact of Bankers Bonuses on the Economy Research Paper

Impact of Bankers Bonuses on the Economy - Research Paper Example A qualitative analysis would be conducted in order to accomplish the objectives of this research study, for which both primary as well as secondary data would be collected. The secondary data would be collected through authentic print as well as online sources, while for collecting primary data; a focus group interview would be conducted among 10 respondents.The spectacular collapse of financial institutions and banks has raised questions that link the bank executives and the payments that they received for their performance. Thomas Philippon and Ariell Reshef in their research report had mentioned that in the year 2000, the salary that the executives received in the banking sector were augmented by about 40 percent, in spite of having the same qualification (Fox, 2009). They were also offered stocks and other equity options in order to avoid their practice of short-termism. It was found that the level of pay of the executives increased dramatically in comparison to the non-executive s (The Independent, 2009). Standard & Poor 500 stated that the average total pay of the CEOs has increased to 10.5 million during the year 2008 from $850,000 in the 1970s. 1.2 Research Problem The research problem revolves around bankers’ bonus and its effect on the economy. This is because it was found that even during the economic crisis when the banks were collapsing, their bankers were receiving the hefty bonus for their performance, which is an underlying cause of financial crisis. 1.3 Research Aim and Objective The aim of this research paper is to identify the relationship between bankers’ bonus and the global economy. In order to fulfill this aim, the objective of the researcher would be to analyze the payment structure in the banking sector, which also includes the bonus. Secondly, the cause and effect of bonus payment on the financial status of the banks during the financial crisis would be also examined. Thirdly, the issues would be identified in order to pre sent the wrong practices if any in this regard. 1.4 Research Questions The research questions have been formulated in line with the aims and objectives of this research study; they are stated below: Q1: Did the bankers receive a bonus during the financial downturn? If yes, then how much? Q2: What was the financial status of the banks which distributed bonus to its executives? Q3: What payment of bonus to bankers an underlying reason which added to the financial crisis?   Bankers’ bonuses are awarded to the workers in the banking and finance industry, which was traditionally paid at the end of the year with the intention of rewarding employees. This was a way to appreciate their contribution to the growth and development of the organization. However, the present scenario of bankers’ bonus can be better explained through Peter Ducker’s words. He stated that when the bosses themselves get over indulged in the corporate trough, they tend to lose respect in the org anization.  Ã‚  

The Role of Iron in Attenuating Tooth Deterioration Coursework

The Role of Iron in Attenuating Tooth Deterioration - Coursework Example onally, it is a transmissible, multifactorial, and dietobacterial disease, and the presence of iron in the diet plays a role in the clinical and development features of the infection. Despite the fact that this disease is complex and as such a grave threat to toddlers, it is preventable. From their research, the authors were able to deduce that those with low serum iron content had a higher risk of having dental caries. According to the article, ECC is generally believed to be directly related to the establishment of S. mutans in the early stages of tooth deterioration. In this, iron has an inhibitory role, which prevents the growth of the microorganism, thus, preventing tooth deterioration. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the authors suggest that there is a need to assess the level of iron in children with ECC. Schroth, Robert, Levi, Jeremy, Kliewer, Eleonore, Friel, James  and   Moffatt, Michael. "Association between iron status, iron deficiency anemia and severe ealry childhood caries: a control study." BMC, (2013): 13:22. Similarly, from the research by Schroth et al. (13-22), one is able to deduce the role of iron in attenuating teeth deterioration. In their article, the authors noted that tooth decay generally affect the well-being of children. They noted this through their studies that included the assessment of differences in regard to the nutritional status between children with and those without Severe Early Childhood Caries (S-ECC). From their finding, which young children with S-ECC have a low ferritin status compared to those with no caries. Additionally, they reported that children with S-ECC are characterized with low haemoglobin level than those who are dental caries-free. The former had a high level of iron deficiency as compared to those children who are cavity free. In regard to the above, it is important to note that in most cases low hemaglobin is considered a sign of low iron levels in the blood leading to anemia. With the above